Appraising netnography: towards insights about new markets in the digital tourist era

Netnography, a naturalistic and predominantly unobtrusive technique developed by Kozinets for exploring online contributions, was the centrepiece of this appraisal. The authors argue that netnography could play a valuable role in enhancing our understanding of (a) rapidly changing tourist markets, (b) the growth of new markets and (c) the perspectives of culturally distinctive groups. The analysis of the blogs of Chinese recreational vehicle tourists who had visited Australia was chosen as a case study. In studying an emerging market segment from a rapidly changing and culturally different community, the case represented a key test of the value of the approach in generating insights. Practical steps to employ the method – entrée, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation and member checks – were illustrated. Issues arising from the case study for the application of netnography in tourism research were highlighted. They included the value of the detail inherent in the postings, the attendant ability to consider the material using conceptual schemes, the practicality of getting additional information, the need to fully address ethical concerns and the value of supplementary perspectives. Suggestions for ways to adapt the technique for better information retrieval and interpretation were also provided.